His Pearl
by XenoLongbottom
Summary: When tween Frodo Baggins is a messenger for his Uncle Bilbo to Paladin Took, his life is turned upside down when he offers reading lessons to the young, yet mature, Pearl Took, eldest sister of none other than Pippin. How will it all go down? Find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Good Morning Pervinca!" Frodo waved to the little girl of 15 (8 to a Man) in the tree.

"Good morning Frodo," she said with a giggle. She quickly latched on to a branch with her knees and hung upside down letting her dirty blond hair hang like a curtain.

"Where's your dad? Uncle Bilbo has a note to give him."

"Oh, he's visiting my aunt and uncle in Buckland, but you can leave it on the dining room table inside." She pointed towards the house.

"Thanks," Frodo answered. At this point, Pervinca's older sister of 20 (10 to a Man) was hanging upside down form the tree, with her light brown curls hanging downward. "Good morning Pimpy," greeted Frodo with a smile.

Pimpernel smiled back shyly at the nickname and murmured back a greeting. She was much more conservative than her little sister, and she hardly ever talked unless it was necessary. But if you put a fiddle of flute in her hands she was off.

As Frodo walked away he heard little Pervinca shriek, "He's so cute!" Frodo's fair cheeks went pink. He never liked how younger girls liked him, he didn't understand it. He was only young, orphaned Frodo Baggins.

As he silently opened the door, he found himself colliding with a very small object that was holding onto his leg. "Frodo!"

Frodo looked down to find little Pippin Took, the youngest child of 10 (5 to a Man), clutching his leg.

"Pippin!" he replied. "How is the little guy" he asked, tousling Pippin's nearly-golden hair.

"Good," he replied with a big grin.

"Where's your dining room table? I gotta leave a note for your dad."

"Right over there," he pointed at a long table in the room next door. "When is your coming-of-age party Frodo?" he added.

'September 22, along with Bilbo's 111th, which is months away" Pippin always asked Frodo about the party.

"Well, I'm super excited," Pippin informed him. "Can we play soccer there?"

"Why not?" Frodo said as Pippin finally let go of his leg. "And," he added with a sly grin, "here's something for your troubles."

Pippin looked down in amazement at the few sweets in his hand. "Thanks Frodo!"

"Your welcome lad," he replied as Pippin ran around him to go play outside with his sisters.

Frodo very nonchalantly placed the letter on the long mahogany table. As he did so, he examined the Hobbit hole surrounding him. The Future Thain lived modestly, if you considered his riches. It had the same look as Bag end, except perhaps a tad bigger. But when he turned to leave, he heard a voice from the couch by the door saying, "You know, you really shouldn't have given him those sweets."

Frodo whirled around to find the eldest Took child, Pearl. She was lying on the couch with an oil lamp above her head, stitching a sampler. "And why ever not Miss Pearl?" he always made fun of her for acting so mature by calling her as if she was some old maid.

"Because, if you do, he'll be asking for more sweets every time you come around."

"Touché, touché,' he said in resignation. He then peered over at her sampler. "I like it," he commented.

"Thanks," she said, "I've been working on it forever."

Frodo took a second look at it. It was poorly done, and the stitching was uneven. But Frodo couldn't bring himself to comment rudely, so he just replied, "You know, I always recalled you of being an outdoors-y type. Why aren't outside on this fine day?"

"Because," she said, as if it was obvious, "Mother says that when I'm married, I won't have time for silly games, and I should at least begin doing housework."

Frodo was surprised to be hearing about marriage from Pearl, and it kind of hurt, but he pushed that aside as he continued to stare at the sampler. "I see, well, it's a lovely… dwarf."

Her face grew gray when he said that, and she replied bitterly, 'it's supposed to be an elf."

"Elves don't have beards," he informed her.

"Really?" Frodo could see a tear trickle down her cheek. "I wish I knew more about them!"

Frodo, realizing he was wrong to comment, felt like he should say something nice. "Well, to tell you the truth, you are the only other Hobbit to have ever seemed interested in elves and dwarves and such, besides little Samwise Gamgee."

"The Gaffer's son?" she asked, forgetting her hurt feelings.

"The very one," Frodo said. And then inspiration sparked. "And, the way he's learned more about them is by reading."

"If only I could do that to," she said with a sigh.

"Well, your father's the Future Thain isn't he? I'm sure he has plenty of books on elves in his library."

"There's the catch."

"What catch?"

"I can't read?"

"What do you mean you can't read?"

"What I mean is that I never learned how to read!" she said such finality, it made Frodo grow silent for a time.

After he got back his speech, he asked, "Why not?"

"My father always said that giving a woman an education is liking giving an orc more teeth." She stared into Frodo's shocked blue eyes. "And he also says that when I'm married I'll have a husband to read for me."

"What's all this talk about you and marriage?" Frodo exclaimed. "I mena, you shouldn't think of marriage until you're at least 31! And what are you... 29?"

"25," she corrected.

This made Frodo stop abrupt in his monologue. "25? 25? Are you sure?" he looked her up and down. She was much further along than most 25 year olds (13 to a Man). But he didn't saying considering it was rude.

"I'm positive," she answered.

"Wait, so you're 25, and you can't read?"

"No," she answered bluntly. "It's just a skill I'll never learn."

Frodo looked at the pretty lass, and an idea hit him as hard as a rock. It was obvious. "You know…" he began, scratching his head, "Uncle Bilbo taught me everything I know, including reading…"

"So do you think Bilbo would teach me?" she asked hopefully, getting up from the couch and clasping her hands together.

"Oh no, Bilbo would never go against your father." But since he couldn't stand to see her hope deflate like a balloon, he added, "But, personally, I wouldn't care doing so."

"Really?"

"Yeah, there's a tree I always sit under in the woods near Bag End where I read. We can meet there."

At this, Pearl ran to him by the doorway, and hugged him. Frodo felt his face grow even pinker. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear. Then she let go and stared into his eyes. "But, what can I give you?"

Before he could say that she didn't have to do anything, he remembered how he reacted when little Samwise did something for him. He would always give him a sweet of sorts or something like that in return, no matter how much Samwise refused it. He then glanced at the discarded sampler still on the couch. "You know, I've always had a passion to learn how to sample."


	2. Chapter 2

Hey! Thnaks for reading. I feel like this is kind of cheesy, but we'll just see how it goes. :)

**Chapter 2**

So it was settled that Frodo would begin reading lessons for Pearl while Pearl would teach him how to sample. Frodo really didn't want to learn how to sample, but he thought he could make Pearl feel good by at least attempting.

Frodo would always meet her first at Bag End and then escort her to the tree, which not even Bilbo knew about. This was the best place to sit. It was in the woods facing away from the Shire, so it was closer to the Sea than any other.

They sat there for three hours under that tree three days a week. Neither of them ever missed a lesson, and if they had to, they would somehow contact each other. For the first hour, a thread in Frodo's hand was guided by Pearl in and out of the fabric. Frodo found this time consuming and understood why Pearl was always reluctant to do it when her mother said so. Then for half-an-hour they ate lunch, which didn't take very long. Then the real fun began when they'd sit down for an hour-and-a-half and Frodo taught Pearl how to read. Then, after that was done, Pearl had to head back home to take care of her old Aunt Lalia, widow of the former Thain.

Frodo thought this was going to be easy. He was sure that within a day she'd be able to read a page from a book. But instead, on the first day he realized how difficult it truly was to attempt to teach someone to read. When he tried to go over the alphabet with her, she got pretty confused. He had to go home that night and (without Bilbo seeing) make flashcards with letters and crudely drawn pictures of things that started with that letter.

After about a week, Pearl could recite all of the consonants and what sounds they made. It was the vowels that had bothered her.

"E for elf. It makes an 'ee' sound," recited Pearl.

"Don't forget it makes the sound 'eh' too," reminded Frodo with a half-hearted smile.

"I'm sorry Frodo," she told him. "I wish I was smart… like you."

He went pink with embarrassment (like he did whenever a girl seemed to comment on him), but replied, "Don't worry about it Pearl. You're getting far better at this." He might not have seemed to like it, but he was enjoying talking to Pearl. During their lunches of bread and cheese they would talk about life, and Frodo couldn't believe the maturity of this 25 year old. She was maybe even deeper thinking than he was, and she didn't even have an education.

By the next week she had gotten the vowels down perfectly. He then attempted to put the letters together for her to make words for her. She would slowly move through a word, and finally realize what it meant. It took her five minutes to read the word "hobbit" without any help from Frodo. She was slowly getting better though.

About after two months since they had begun, she stared at one of Frodo's books. On the back of the cover it wrote, "This book is personal property of Frodo Baggins." As soon as she saw that name, she got a picture of Frodo in her mind. "Frodo," she muttered under her breath.

"Yeah?" he asked. He had been examining a beetle on the tree behind them.

"Frodo," she repeated.

"What?" he asked impatiently. He turned around to find her with the book opened.

"This says 'Frodo', doesn't it?" He peered over at his own handwriting and nodded.

"But how did you get that so fast? I saw you pick up that book only five seconds ago…" Then it hit him. "You read that and knew what it was immediately."

"Yeah," she said, like it was obvious.

"Pearl, that means you can read!" Frodo exclaimed.

"Yeah!" she repeated, more enthusiastically. "Frodo, I can read!"

They were so happy at that moment, Frodo voluntarily hugged her. It was a genuine hug, because he was so happy and cared that much about her. Pearl hugged him back fully, suddenly happy to be in his arms. But then, Frodo's face turned into a frown, and he awkwardly let go. "You should probably get back home. Your Aunt Lalia can't be kept waiting," he murmured, looking down at his large hobbit feet.

"But Frodo, it's only been an hour…"

"No Pearl, believe me. Here," he handed her a book, "try to read at least a page a night of this."

"Frodo…"

"Go on Pearl." He was getting slightly frustrated now. He couldn't stand to look at her. As she walked away with book in hand, Frodo found his eyes following her. But then he chastised himself on the inside. But he couldn't help. _Oh no, _he thought to himself. _I think I might be in love with Pearl Took. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Frodo started to get more worried about going to the reading sessions now. He didn't want to love Peal Took. He was afraid of what Bilbo would say, being as he was expecting to keep Frodo as a fellow bachelor. He was even more afraid of Paladin, the future Thain and Pearl's father. But he was most nervous about was the age difference. Being seven years apart was fine when you were older and both were out of their tweens, but her being 25 and him being 32 would get some awkward glances. _Well,_ he thought to himself, _I suppose love doesn't care what you think before it traps you._

He had been surviving the last meetings all right, but he didn't for how much longer. Pearl was making much less progress since things had gotten awkward. They would always end quicker and Frodo could hardly stand it. He needed advice. And not just any kind of advice, but girl advice.

But who was he to go to? His first idea was Bilbo, but then since when was Bilbo good with lasses. He was still single, wasn't he? Then he thought his young friend Merry. But he was only 18 (9 to a Man) and he was the Future Thain's nephew. He had to choose someone not too close to know who he was talking about, but not someone too far away and so they would snitch him to Bilbo, or worse, Paladin. He had been thinking for a long time, when he heard hedge clippers outside the window. That sparked an idea. He looked out and there was the Gaffer. He remembered Bilbo explaining to him how the Gaffer, believe or not, was quite handsome in his day Not only that, but the Gaffer was married, and had children. He must know what t do with love.

But Frodo hardly ever talked to the Gaffer. How was he supposed to explain this to him? He knew the Gaffer would most likely not snitch on him to the Future Thain, but to Bilbo he wasn't sure of. What would come out when the Gaffer and Bilbo got drunk together? But at this moment, he was Frodo's only hope.

"Mr. Gamgee!" he called out the living room window to the gardener. Bilbo had always taught Frodo to be polite to the Gaffer, as he was an elder, no matter what class he was from. And Frodo understood completely.

"Yes, Mr. Frodo?" the Gaffer hollered back.

"Can I talk to you inside Mr. Gamgee? I need to ask you a question."

"Of course Mr. Frodo." The Gaffer rolled his eyes as he walked into the hobbit hole on the call of the youth. "Yes, what is it, Mr. Frodo?"

"Please, Mr. Gamgee sit down." Frodo gestured to a wooden chair in the living room. When the Gaffer had settled into the chair in his dirty working clothes, Frodo continued. "Look, Mr. Gamgee, what I'm about to talk you about you cannot tell a soul. Not even Bilbo, especially Bilbo."

Mr. Gamgee sat there with a puzzled expression. _The lad told Bilbo everything. What was so important that he couldn't tell Bilbo! _Finally, he agreed not to tell a soul.

"Thank you Mr. Gamgee. Well, you see…" Frodo's hands were getting sweaty. Could he really go through with this? Well, it was too late to stop. "You see, Mr. Gamgee, there's this girl…"

_Bingo! _Thought the Gaffer.

"Well, and she's younger than I and she has a very powerful father. And well, I don't know what to do."

The Gaffer felt sympathy for the lad. "Stop right there Mr. Frodo. I don't need any more explaining. I understand the situation perfectly."

Frodo smiled, relieved that the Gaffer could understand. He wondered what kind of advice he'd get from the old man, when the Gaffer said a statement that shocked him. "Age makes no difference Mr. Frodo."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me right Mr. Frodo. Age doesn't matter. You should know that best. I remember Bilb talking about you parents being 12 years apart when he was heading off for their wedding."

"But, Mr. Gamgee, they weren't still tweens. This girl's 25 and…" he couldn't bring himself to say his own age.

"Doesn't matter," continued the Gaffer. "As long as you love her for the right reasons, then it doesn't matter."

"What are the right reasons, Mr. Gamgee?" Frodo was interested in this uneducated man's ideas.

"When you love her for her heart and her mind, not the rest of her."

Frodo immediately knew what he was talking about, and shook his head while he felt his face go pink. "I don't think of her like that Mr. Gamgee."

"Now that's a true gentleman," said the Gaffer, patting Frodo's shoulder. "Anything else you need from me Mr. Frodo?"

He asked this as he was getting up, but then was disappointed when Frodo answered, "Actually, I was curious, how am I supposed to ask her to begin…courting?" He didn't know what other word to use.

Mr. Gamgee gave him a wry smile. "Now, that's the creative part about it." And he got up quickly as he could get back to work, leaving Frodo pondering his words.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

Frodo didn't know what to do with the Gaffer's advice. He was happy he had earned it, but he just didn't know how to use it.

_"Age doesn't matter." _That went through his head again and again until it was echoing with his brain. This was a surprising idea. He was pretty sure it did matter. He remembered how everybody out-casted 49 year-old Cameron Underhill when he had brought home his 28 year old bride. He never wanted to be like thought of something like that. _But perhaps that was different. I mean, unlike him, both of us are in our tweens, and if I do marry Pearl, it will be when she's at least of age._

That afternoon, he was going to meet Pearl for another reading lesson. She had recently been able to read an entire page without having to pause. She was getting better and Frodo was actually able to make a picture which looked somewhat recognizable in the sampler without Pearl's help.

"Hey," she welcomed him as she held out the sampler for him to practice on.

"Thanks," he managed a smile as he took the sampler. Frodo could feel her eyes on him as he moved the needle up and down, up and down. All of sudden, another bit of the Gaffer's words came into his mind. _"Now that's the creative part about it."_ That part. How on earth was he going to tell Pearl the truth? He got so worked up in imagining the best way to do that, that he couldn't stop himself even when Pearl screamed, "Frodo!"

He then felt a stab of pain as he looked down to realize that he had unconsciously been stitching all the way down to the end of the fabric to reach his thumb. He had just stabbed himself with the needle.

She quickly grabbed a napkin from the basket she'd always bring to carry their lunch. She held it tight around his thumb, attempting to stop the bleeding. He felt a small bit of pain from the pressure, but it was a good kind of pain. He looked up into her hazel eyes. They were the same color as the rest of her siblings, but they had a wiser and more concerned look about them. He liked them. She was staring at his thumb, but then looked up into his blue eyes when she felt his eyes on her. At that moment, Frodo felt like it was the time. "Look, Pearl, I…" But his thoughts were lost when she threw her arms quickly around him and kissed him.

Frodo had never kissed a girl, and never realized how much he had missed out on. He began to kiss back equally as strong. As their lips parted, Pearl whispered in his ear, "Me too."

_That was easy enough, _he thought to himself. And with that they kept their arms around each others' shoulders, sat closer together and went back to their studies.

** 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Two months had gone by since that wonderful moment, and Frodo and Pearl were hitting it off. They would sit under that tree and talk and talk, reading books to each other with the occasional kiss. Those days were some of the few of Frodo's life that were truly bliss.

Pearl was reading short novels now. Frodo had read most of them when he was 14 or 15, but he was glad she was reading. He was proud of his Pearl. These days the sampling was thrown aside and they sometimes they'd just sit there quietly, enjoying the early-summer day.

One day, they were sitting under there tree, enjoying some apples, when they heard singing. Not the drunken jolly hobbit singing they were so used to, but beautiful, sweet, and mystical singing that filled your heart with so many mixed emotions you felt like exploding. This song was in a different tongue, and Frodo automatically knew what this meant. The elves.

He turned around from behind the tree, and he could feel Pearl looking around from the other side. They were wood elves, in green, gold, and brown. All of their hair was white-blond and they had fair skin, even more fair than Frodo's.

The lordly beings felt a pairs of eyes on them, and they noticed the two young Halflings. They smiled to themselves as they walked. _They are in love, and they don't know what's coming yet._

"What are they doing?" asked Pearl to Frodo, mystified.

"They're going to the sea; to the Gray Havens," muttered Frodo.

They then turned around back into their original positions, listening to the elven melody.

Now the next that happened Frodo didn't understand himself. He didn't know what made him say it. Perhaps it was the elven music, or maybe sitting next to Pearl, or maybe it was just himself. But the words he uttered were surprising none the less.

"When you turn 33, we're going to get married, and we're not going to care what anyone else thinks."

Pearl looked up into his big blue eyes from his shoulder. She gave a half-smile and said, "I don't know. I think you're a bit too old for me." She was holding back giggles as she said it.

"Age doesn't matter," Frodo informed her, remembering the Gaffer's words.

"Well then, why don't we get married now?" Now she really was being sarcastic.

"Because, neither of us are of age and your father would kill me."

"Touché, touché," she smiled genuinely, remembering when he had first asked her for the lessons.

There was silence for a long time, until she said very seriously, "Do you promise?"

"Promise," he answered, looking straight into her eyes. And he meant it, or at least at the time. He did not know of the future that lay ahead of him.

He then sealed the promise with a kiss, and they silently went back to listening to the wood elves singing their beautiful, yet somewhat sad tune.


End file.
